Abstract
Background and objective: Allergy belongs to a group of mast cell-related disorders and is one of the most common diseases of childhood. It was shown that asthma and allergic rhinitis diminish the risk of various cancers, including colon cancer and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. On the other hand, asthma augments the risk of lung cancer and an increased risk of breast cancer in patients with allergy has been observed. Thus, the relation between allergy and cancer is not straightforward and furthermore, its biological mechanism is unknown. The HTRA (high temperature requirement A) proteases promote apoptosis, may function as tumor suppressors and HTRA1 is known to be released by mast cells. Interleukin-12 (Il-12) is an important cytokine that induces antitumor immune responses and is produced mainly by dendritic cells that co-localize with mast cells in superficial organs. Material and methods: In the present study we have assessed with ELISA plasma levels of the HTRA proteins, Il-12, and of the anti-HTRA autoantibodies in children with allergy (40) and in age matched controls (39). Children are a special population, since they usually do not have comorbidities and take not many drugs the processes we want to observe are not influenced by many other factors. Results: We have found a significant increase of HTRA1, 2 and 3, and of the Il-12 levels in the children with atopy (asthma and allergic rhinitis) compared to controls. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the HTRA1–3 and Il-12 levels might be useful in analyzing the pro- and antioncogenic potential in young atopic patients.
Highlights
The influence of allergic reactions on carcinogenesis has become an important scientific issue.The link between allergies, tolerance and cancer risk is deeply analyzed to find some new solutions in preventing or even treating neoplastic diseases [1,2,3,4]
To gain insight into possible biological mechanisms underlying the associations between allergy and cancer, we studied serum levels of the high temperature requirement A (HTRA) proteases and interleukin-12 (Il-12) in children diagnosed with allergy
We focused on the HTRA proteases and Il-12 since they are known to function as tumor suppressors [14,15]
Summary
The influence of allergic reactions on carcinogenesis has become an important scientific issue.The link between allergies, tolerance and cancer risk is deeply analyzed to find some new solutions in preventing or even treating neoplastic diseases [1,2,3,4]. The influence of allergic reactions on carcinogenesis has become an important scientific issue. IgE-mediated allergy manifesting as atopic asthma (AA) or allergic rhinitis (AR) is one of the most common diseases of childhood. Children are a unique population and a disease model very interesting to analyze since they usually do not have comorbidities and take not many drugs, the processes one wants to observe are not influenced by so many unpredictable other factors, as it happens in adult patients’. Allergy belongs to a group of mast cell-related disorders and is one of the most common diseases of childhood. Children are a special population, since they usually do not have comorbidities and take not many drugs the processes we want to observe are not influenced by many other factors
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